Coal-separator.



J. FREW & M. J. McNElL.

COAL SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 12. 1917.

1 ,260, 1 78. Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET ll. FREW & M. l. McNElL.

COAL SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 12. 1911.

1,260,1 78. Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- amvmboz w/m 7 72 1 rrr as tartar COAL-SEPARATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 19 19 18.

Application filed October 12, 1917. Serial No. 196,265.

To all whom it ma concern:

Be it known t at we, JOHN F REW and MARTIN J. MCNEIL, citizens of the United States, residin at Avoca, in the county of Luzerne and gtate of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Coal-Separators,-of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in coal separators for separating coal from rock, slate and other refuse material by specific gravity and particularly to improvements in separating machines of that class in which the mixed coal and other substances are subjected to the separating action of a body of agitated water.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a novel construction of screen bottom for the separating chamber and an automatic gate controlling the slate outlet, whereby a more eflicient separating action is eiiected and the amount of coal discharged with the slate and rock decreased to a material degree.

A further object of the invention is to provide a protecting guard in front of the gate which decreases the liability of the slate rising and discharging through the coal outlet and also decreases the liability of coal to pass to the rock chute and to cause the slate and rock when a determinating amount thereof accumulates in. the bottom of the chamber to be automatically discharged into the rock outlet.

Another object is to provide an adjustable bafie on the lower rear side of the protecting guard to adapt the machine to be adjusted according to the percentage of slate and rock in the coal.

Another ob'ect is to provide an adjustable bafiie at the ront upper side of the guard to hold the coal on the guard while the separation of the slate and rock from the coal is being efiected.

A further object of the invention is to provide a guard casing forthe operating rod connected to the gate to protect said operatg rod from direct contact with material in the separating chamber.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of devices hereinafter described and claimed.

In. the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a coal separating machine provided with an automatically operating slate outlet controlling gate and with a guard which has a rod rotecting casing constructed and arrange in accordance with our invention and showing the gate in closed position.

Fi 2 is a similar view of the same, showing t e gate in open position. 1

Fig. 3 is a detailed plan of the screen bottom.

Fig. 4 is a detailed perspective view of the guard and showing the adjustable baflie 22 F ig. 5 is a similar view of the guard, from the front side, and showing the adjustable bafiie 22 Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of the member 23.

The coal separating machine here shown is of the type known in the trade as the Lehigh Valley Separator, embodying an uprighttank 1 partitioned to provide a plunger chamber or compartment 2, a separating chamber or compartment 3, an agitation and refuse discharge compartment 4: having a valve outlet 5 and superposed discharging troughs 6 and 7 communicating respectively with the outlets 8 and 9 of the compartment 3 and within which troughs the conveyers 10 and 11 are arranged for respectively carrying off the separated coal and the slate and rock from which the coal has been separated.

A plunger 13 is arranged to reciprocate in the chamber 2. Said plunger is herein shown as operated by an eccentric 15 on a drive shaft 16 and a connecting rod 14: which has an eccentric strap 14 engaged with the eccentric. The shaft -may be driven by any suitable power and is coupled by driving connections 16"- 16 with the conveyers 6 and 7 for operation in unison therewith.

The separating chamber 3 is provided with a screen bottom 17 which inclines downwardly and rearwardly and which separates the chamber 3 from the chamber A and through which screen bottom the said chambers are in communication with each other. The said screen bottom has perforations 17 in its front portion which are in practice about five-sixteenths of an inch in diameter while the rear portion of the screen bottom has perforations 18 which are in the smaller perforations increasing the force of the upward jets of water through the screen bottom on the descending stroke of the plunger, so that the coal, but not the rock or slate, becomes lifted.

A chute or conductor 22 is arranged to discharge the material to be separated into the chamber 3 and on to the front portion of the screen bottom. The screen bottom is made of perforated sheet metal and a suitable frame structure, the perforations be- .ing in practice of the size above described and serving to allow a free flow of Water between the compartments 3 and 4 and the discharge of'all fine particles of material from the compartment 3 to the compartment 4: for final discharge as refuse through the slush gate 5 and at the same time preventing the passage of any particles of any material size through the screen bottom. The ,flow of newly mined coal to the separator apparatus is regulated by a gate 22*. This gate in accordance with our invention is provided at the lower side with a rear- 25 wardly extending baffle 22 which is spaced a suitable distance above the screen bottom. The said bafile is in practice an angle iron, the web 22 of which is wider than the web 22 The baffle is detachably secured to the gate by bolts and may be adjusted so that either the narrow web or the broader web may bear against the gate and the other web extend rearwardly therefrom, so that in effect the baffle may be adjusted in width, 85 rearwardly from the gate and over the screen bottom, as will be understood.

In the operation of the apparatus it will be understood that the coal is fed in suitable quantity to be readily handled through the 40 chute 22 to the separating chamber 3 and falls first upon the screen grate 17 and while passing under the gate 22 is spread upon the screen grate and that the plunger is operated intermittently to force the water downwardly in the chamber 2 to be forced upwardly through the' screen bottom into the chamber 3. The water thus agitated acts upon newly mined coal which is mixed with a considerable amount of slate and rock and serves to separate the comparatively light particles of coal from the heavier particles of slate and rock, the slate and rock feeding downwardly and rearwardly by the gravity from the upper screen portion 17 on to the lower screen portion while the coal is washed up from the bottom, the coal thus produced is discharged over a protecting guard 23 into the outlet 8 and is conveyed away by the conveyer 10, the slate and rock to feeding gradually downwardly for discharge through the outlet 9 for conveyance to any suitable point of discharge or deposit by the conveyer 11. This guard 23 is red and in practice is perforated and is at provided on the rear side and at its lower Laced-rs side with a rearwardly extending baffle 23* which is spaced a suitable distance above the tread 18.

The bafie 23 is in practice an angle iron and one of its webs bears against the guard and is provided with vertical slots through which bolts extend which secure said battle to the guard. Owing to the provision of the 4. vertical slots said baflie 23 is adjustably secured to the guard and may be moved vertically and hence may be arranged at any required height about the screen according to the character of the coal and the percentage of rock and slate therein.

The slate outlet 9 is governed by a gravity controlled gate 2 f whichis pivotally mounted at its upper side as at 25. This gate closes forwardly at its lower side against a plate 26 which is secured'on the rear end of the screen bottom. The said gate is connected by a rod 27 with a rock arm 28 which projects from a rock shaft 29, said rock shaft having bearings at opposite sides of the machine. A crank lever 30 is secured to said rock shaft and extends upwardly and forwardly therefrom, out of the way, and is provided with an adjustable weight 31.

The weight and lever counteract the weight of the gate 24 and operate to normally hold said gate in closed position, permitting the gate to open from time to time as rock and slate accumulate on the screen tread 17 and permit the discharge of such accumulation through the opening 9 to the conveyer 7. Owing to the provision of the fixed guard 23 the material is prevented from accumulating in undue quantity on the screen tread 17 To prevent the rod 27 from coming in contact with the material in the chamber 3 and from being bent thereby and the operation of the gate 24 interfered with, we provide a guard casing 32 for said rod and which is here shown as a tube of suitable diameter which is secured to the guard 23 and through which tube the said rod27 extends, said rod being arranged to freely operate in said tube.

Qwing to the arrangement of the rock shaft 29 with its rock arm 28 the ull on 115 the rod 27 on the gate is directly orward and upward by the weighted lever 31 and the action of the gate in automatically controlling the passage of the rock and slate is greatly improved and facilitated. 120

We, also, in accordance with our invention, provide a bafile 23 which is arranged on the front side and near the top of the guard 23. This bafiie is in practice an angle iron, and is arranged with one web bearing 125 on the guard, as shown in Fig. 6, the bolts which secure the said bafie to theguard passing through vertical slots in the guard and said slots ermitting vertical adjustment of the ba e on the guard, as will be rec means understood. This baflie serves to retain the coal on the the slate and rock from the coal is'bein effected. The baflie 23 may be adjusted om time to time according to varying conditions in the material which is being treated in the machine.

While we have herein shown a separating machine in which motion of the water or liquid is produced by the action of a reciprocating plunger we would have it understood that any equivalent mechanism may be employed within the scope of our invention, and we would also have itunderstood that while we have herein shown and described a preferred form of our invention, modifications may bemade in the form, proportion and construction of the several parts, within the scope of the appended claims. 1

What we claim is 1. In a coal separating machine of the class described, a tank adapted to contain liquid and having a separating chamber provided with superposed outlets and a screen bottom through which said chamber is in communication with the tank, means to force water upwardly through said screen bottom, a gravity controlled slate outlet gate arranged in the lower slate outlet, and a fixed rearwardly and upwardly inclined guard arranged in advance of said gate and to direct coal to the upper, coal outlet, means to open said gate and including a connecting rod attached to said gate, and a guard casing through which said rod extends, the

said casing being attached-to and supported by said guard and said rod and casin being arranged at' a slight angle to the ow of material through the tank.

guard while the separation of I 2. In a coal separating machine of the class described, in combination with a gravity controlled slate outlet gate, a guard arranged in front of said gate and rovided at its lower side with a vertically a justable rearwardly extending baflie.

3. In a coal separating machine of the class described, a tank adapted to contain liquid and having a separating chamber provided with superposed outlets and a screen bottom through which said chamber is in communication with the tank, means to force water upwardly through said screen bottom, a gravity controlled slate outlet gate arranged 1n the lower, slate outlet, and a rearwardly and upwardly inclined guard arranged in advance of said gate and to direct coal to the upper, coal outlet, said guard being provided with a forwardly extending bafile on its front side near its upper end.

4. In a coal separating machine of the class described, a tank adapted to contain liquid and having a separating chamber provided with superposed outlets and a screen bottom through which said chamber is in communication with the tank, means to force water upwardly through said screen bottom, a gravity controlled slate outlet gate arranged in the lower, slate outlet, and a rearwardly and upwardly inclined guard arranged in advance of said gate and to direct coal to the upper, coal outlet, said guard being provided with a forwardly extendin battle on its front side near its upper end, said baffle being adjustable, according to varying conditions in the material treated.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures.

JOHN FREW.

MARTIN J. MCNEHJ. 

